Dust pan of numerous shapes and sizes are known in the art. Dust pans are useful for cleaning in and about the home and commercial and industrial buildings. Dust pans typically have a broad shallow container or scoop attached to a handle, the scoop or container being open on one edge. The scoop is rested on the ground and a broom or other implement is used to push dust or other debris over the edge and into the scoop. The scoop is then manipulated like a shovel, to lift and dump the debris into a receptacle out of the same open end through which the debris or dust originally entered. Exemplary dust pan devices of the prior art include Coffey, U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,692; Marttinen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,611; Kahan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,734; and Vosbikian et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,737.
However, all of the prior art dust pan devices suffer from a common drawback, namely, they have a tendency to spill a portion of the debris upon emptying. It would therefore solve a long felt need in the art if this drawback were to be overcome and a dust pan provided which was structured to substantially reduce if not eliminate spillage of debris when the dust pan is emptied.